Nike

Introduction

Company: Nike, Inc

Founded: 1971

Formally: Blue Ribbon Sports, founded 1964

Brand: Swoosh

Slogan: "Just Do It"

Location: Washingtown County, Oregon Beaverton, Oregon

Key People: Philip Knight - Chairman and Co-founder ~ Mark Parker - CEO ~ Bill Bowerman - Co-founder

Industry: Sporting Goods

Products: Sports Equipment, shoes, apparel, assessories

Revenue: $13 Billion (FY 2005) ^[1]

Employees: 26,500 ^[2]

Website: www.Nike.com[3]

NIKE, Inc. (NYSE: NKE[4]) and its subsidiaries are involved in the design, development and marketing of products such as footwear, apparel, equipment and accessories worldwide. Its mission is "to bring innovation and inspiration to every athlete in the world*. *If you have a body, you are an athlete" (Bowerman,B)[5] The corporation caters for all types of sport and lifestyles, designing various forms of footwear from athletic footwear for running, to shoes designed for hiking and outdoor activities. In addition, it sells a line of performance equipment, including golf clubs, sport balls, timepieces, electronic media devices, skates, bats, gloves, swimwear, cycling apparel, children's clothing, school supplies, and eyewear. The company sells its products to retail accounts, through its owned retail stores, and through a mix of independent distributors and licensees.

The company takes its name from the Greek goddess of victory, Nike.

Above information from Nike.com

Background/History

Nike is the world's number one manufacturer and marketer of athletic footwear and apparel. It was founded in 1964 when it was firstly called Blue Ribbon Sports and its headquarters are situated in Beaverton, Oregon. It was co-founded by Bill Bowerman, who was the track and field coach for the University of Oregan and Philip H. Knight, a student from the University and a middle-distance runner under Bowerman. Nike was established as one of the world's most familiar brands during the 1980s and 1990s and has propelled to the extent that it now operates 184 stores in the United States and 190 stores globally. It owns facilities in Oregon, Tennessee, North Carolina and The Netherlands, and operates leased facilities for 14 Niketowns, over 200 Nike Factory Stores, a dozen NikeWomen stores and over 100 sales and administrative offices. The company now reaches out to most of the planet, operating in regions of the world such as the US, the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, the Asia Pacific region and Africa. This significant growth in recent years is shown by the fact that the company provides 26,000 full-time jobs. Nike has also expanded financially and has reported net revenues of $13.7 billion, a 12 percent increase from FY'04.[6]

Nike, Inc now markets its products under its own brand signified by The Nike Swoosh as well as under Air Jordan, Nike Golf and Team Starter among others, and under brands from wholly owned subsidiaries including Bauer, Cole Haan, Converse, and Hurley International.

Nike Timeline

The following timeline is taken directly from Wikipedia

The 1960s

1962

• Phil Knight drafts a thesis paper at Stanford University in which he asserts that low-priced athletic shoes made in Japan could compete with more expensive footwear made in Germany. After earning his MBA, Knight travels to Japan, where he meets with executives from Onitsuka Tiger and persuades them to make Knight's company, Blue Ribbon Sports, the distributor of Tiger brand footwear for the western United States.

1964

• Knight sends samples of Tiger footwear to University of Oregon track coach Bill Bowerman, for whom Knight ran middle distances while an undergraduate. Bowerman suggests that he and Knight become partners, with Bowerman to provide endorsement clout as well as footwear design ideas. The two shake hands and each pledge $500 to start the new venture.

1965

• Jeff Johnson, a former track rival of Knight's, joins as the company's first full-time salesman. He sells shoes out of the back of his van to high schoolers at track meets.

1966

• Johnson opens the company's first retail outlet in Santa Monica, California. Knight and Bowerman convert their handshake agreement into a formal, written agreement.

1967

• Knight and Bowerman incorporate Blue Ribbon Sports, creating BRS, Inc.

1969

• With annual sales approaching $300,000, Knight resigns as a professor at Portland State University to devote himself full-time to BRS, Inc.

The 1970s

1970

• Bowerman experiments with rubber spikes, pouring a liquid rubber compound into his wife's waffle iron, which led to the creation of the 'waffle' sole.

1971

• Knight begins development of a new athletic footwear brand. A graphic design student at Portland State University named Carolyn Davidson is hired by Knight to design the new brand, which is referred to as a Swoosh.
• Along with the new brand, BRS, Inc. needs a name for its new line of footwear. Dozens of suggestions, including Knight's favorite "Dimension Six," are rejected until Jeff Johnson dreams up the name Nike, the Greek goddess of victory.

1972

• The first Nike products, adorned with the Swoosh, are delivered to athletes competing in Eugene, Oregon for the US Olympic Track & Field trials.

1973

• American record-holder Steve Prefontaine becomes the first major track athlete to wear Nike shoes.

1974

• The Waffle Trainer is introduced, quickly becoming the best-selling training shoe in the U.S.

1977

• Nike print ad with the tag "There is no finish line" is introduced.

1978

• Tennis 'bad boy' John McEnroe is signed by Nike to an endorsement contract.

1979

• Nike's Air technology patented by inventor M. Frank Rudy is introduced in the Tailwind running shoe. Gas-filled plastic membranes are inserted into the sole of running shoes to provide cushioning.

The 1980s

1980

• Nike completes an initial public offering of 2,377,000 shares of Class B common stock on December 2.

1981

• BRS, Inc. merges into Nike, Inc. on December 31, and the company officially becomes known as Nike, Inc.

1982

• Dan Wieden and Dave Kennedy start their own advertising agency, Wieden+Kennedy, taking with them the Nike account on April 1. In October, Nike airs its first national television ad during the New York Marathon.

1982

• The Air Force 1 Shoe|Air Force 1 basketball shoe becomes the first Nike court shoe to make use of the Air technology.

1984

• Nike signs Michael Jordan to an endorsement contract. The first model of his signature shoe, the Air Jordan, originally is banned by the NBA, drawing a tremendous amount of publicity. The introduction of the Air Jordan shoe was a key event in Nike's successful development.

1986

• Corporate revenues surpass $1 billion for the first time.

1987

• The Nike Air Max shoe is introduced, which uses a much larger Air cushioning unit, and for the first time is visible at the side of the midsole. This was the first of many generations of Air Max-branded technologies. A television ad featuring the Beatles' song "Revolution" was the first time that a song performed by the Beatles was used in a TV ad.

1988

• Nike introduces its "Just Do It" slogan, a phrase from Zen philosophy.

1989

• Nike begins its Bo Knows ad campaign, which becomes a part of the national culture for the next few years.

The 1990s

1990

• The first Niketown store opens in downtown Portland.
• Nike opens its world headquarters in unincorporated Washington County, just west of Portland, on 74 acres (0.3 km²) of land.

1993

• Nike introduces Reuse-A-Shoe, which collects athletic shoes, separates and grinds them up into Nike Grind, used in the making of athletic courts, tracks and fields.

1994

• Nike signs a long-term partnership with the Brazil national football team|Brazilian national football (soccer) team.
• Nike wins Advertiser of the Year at the Cannes Advertising Festival

1996

• Nike signs Tiger Woods soon after he gives up his amateur golf status.
• Nike causes controversy with its advertising campaign during the Olympic Games|Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia|Atlanta which features the slogan, "You Don't Win Silver — You Lose Gold." Nike's use of this slogan draws harsh criticism from many sources, including several former Olympic silver and bronze medalists.

1998

• After pressure from lobbying groups Nike and other companies publicly disclose their worldwide factory locations, a first for the garment industry.
  • Phil Knight formally commits Nike to strict standards for manufacturing facilities used by Nike, including: minimum age; air quality; mandatory education programs; expansion of microloan program; factory monitoring; and enhanced transparency of Nike's corporate social responsibility practices.

1999

• Bill Bowerman, co-founder of Nike, dies on Dec. 24 at age 88.

The 2000s

2000

• Nike Shox|Nike Shox cushioning/support system is introduced, initially worn by Vince Carter and others on the US Olympic basketball team.

2002

• NikeGO launches, a grassroots initiative to increase physical activity among youths aged 9-15.
• Rap star Nelly releases a chart topping song about Air Force Ones, a brand of Nike shoes.

2003

• Nike acquires once-bankrupt rival Converse (company)|Converse for $305 million on July 9.
• For the first time in the company's history, international sales exceed USA sales, as Nike continues to develop into a global company.
• Nike is named "Advertiser of the Year" by the Cannes Advertising Festival, the first company to earn that honor twice (also 1994) in the festival's 50-year history.

2004

• Phil Knight steps down as CEO and President of Nike, but continues as chairman. Knight is replaced by William D. Perez as CEO of Nike, effective Dec. 28.
• Nike creates the Exeter Brands Group, a wholly owned subsidiary for athletic footwear and apparel brands for lower price points. Brands include Starter, Team Starter, Asphalt, Shaq and Dunkman.
• Annual revenues exceed $12.3 billion.
• In June, Chinese animator Zhu Zhiqianq, of Xiao Xiao fame, files a lawsuit against Nike for plagiarizing his cartoon stickmen in their commercials. Nike representatives deny the accusations, claiming that the stickman figure lacks originality, and is public domain. Zhu eventually wins the lawsuit, and Nike is ordered to pay $36,000 to the cartoonist.

2005

• Nike reports annual revenue for fiscal year 2005 (ending May 31) of $13.7 billion, a 12% increase over the previous fiscal year.
• Nike comes under fire from independent music fans and apologizes for their use of an easily identifiable Minor Threat album cover slightly modified into a promotional tool for their line of skateboarding shoes.

2006

• William Perez left Nike voluntarily on January 23, 2006. Perez said in the statement that he and Knight "weren't entirely aligned on some aspects of how to best lead the company's long-term growth. It became obvious to me that the long-term interests of the company would be best served by my resignation."
• Mark Parker replaces Perez as CEO. Parker, joined Nike in 1979 and is considered the visionary behind the Nike Air franchise and many other innovations, Nike said, and one of the key executives leading the company's long-term strategic planning.
• Nike Inc. filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Adidas-Salomon AG on February 16 2006, claiming its archrival makes shoes using elements of Nike's SHOX cushioning technology.

People/Staff

Philip H. Knight, Chairman of the Board of Directors

Mark Parker, President & Chief Executive Officer, Nike, Inc.

Charlie Denson, President, Nike Brand

Board of Directors

John G. Connors

Timothy D. Cook

Jill K. Conway

Ralph D. DeNunzio

Alan B. Graf, Jr.

Douglas G. Houser

Jeanne P. Jackson

Orin C. Smith

John R. Thompson, Jr.

A Closer Examination of Nike

Nike & Corporate Social Responsibility

Nike make u-turn on free statement promise

Nike praised by Oxfam

Lobbying firms

Former lobbying firms

• Fleishman-Hillard
• Weber Shandwick, until November 2013

External Links

• NikeBiz Nike's corporate / investor website
• Nike Town Nike's Full Range of Products.
• The NikeWatch Campaign Oxfam campaign to pressure Nike for better workers rights
• Anti-sweatshop movement Anti-Sweatshop student movement begins by focusing on Nike
• Pitchfork Media News - 6/23/05 Logo Controversy Indie music review site reporting on the Nike/Minor Threat logo controversy
• FairLabor.org annual report Fair Labour annaul report looking at how 25 top companies including Nike are performing
• Information on Kasky v. Nike High profile court case
• Case study for New Academy of Business A case study outlining Nikes experience in developing and implementing various labour practices

Notes

1 ^Company overview on nike.com

2 ^Company overview on nike.com